The Final Hurdle
The PhD is not a sprint or marathon. The closest is maybe the hurdles event: a series of barriers to be cleared. Literature review has to be cleared so you have a good background understanding. The transfer viva has to...
Daily viva help for PhDs
The PhD is not a sprint or marathon. The closest is maybe the hurdles event: a series of barriers to be cleared. Literature review has to be cleared so you have a good background understanding. The transfer viva has to...
Twenty years ago I had a boss who loved a fun turn of phrase. I worked in an independent furniture shop, and I can remember the day that one customer spent two hours wandering up and down the store floor,...
…not perfect. Today I’m delivering my 218th Viva Survivor workshop. I still get a little nervous, but only a little. I’m more likely to be anxious about travel arrangements than talking or presenting. I make a point of giving the...
Picture two friends: the first has just passed their viva, the second is trying to unpick what happened… …I was really lucky with the questions- -lucky? Why, were they easy? Well… No, they were pretty challenging in places. I was...
When you reach the viva you have more than facts and theories. You have tools for thinking, seeing and doing. They’re shaped by experience, forged through work, refined by everything you’ve done. Ahead of your viva, reflect on the tools...
Compare your experience and knowledge to your examiners and you might feel pretty small. They’ve had longer to see more, learn more, do more and know more. A candidate could easily worry as a result. But more is not the...
In The Wizard Of Oz, Dorothy’s friends all thought they were missing something. The Scarecrow didn’t have a brain, the Tin Man lacked a heart and the Lion had no courage. Dorothy takes them to see the Wizard, thinking that...
In your viva, remember: Every question you get is because of something you’ve done. All of your answers are because of something you’ve done too.
When I tell candidates their examiners will be checking their competence in the viva, I feel them pull back. Perhaps we’ve heard the word “incompetent” too often. Now even if we talk about the opposite it comes to mind. I...
In your records you see your story, even in outline. Got a lab book? Read it. Kept a diary? Give it the once-over. You probably have an electronic record of meetings with your supervisor, right? Look over those notes. What...